1875 photo with a close view of Hindu reliefs in the ruins used to make the wall of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Qutb, Delhi

Photograph of Hindu carvings of ruins that became the wall of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Delhi from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by David Joseph Beglar in the 1870s. The Quwwat-ul-Islam or Might of Islam Mosque is the earliest surviving mosque in India and stands in the Qutb Minar enclosure in Delhi. It was begun in 1193 by Qutb-ud-Din Aybak (r.1206-1210), the first Sultan of Delhi and founder of the Slave Dynasty and completed four years later, with further additions made by later Sultans in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The mosque was built on the site of Rai Piathora’s Hindu temple using the spoil from 27 other Hindu and Jain temples. Carved Hindu motifs on recycled masonry are found throughout the mosque in combination with later Islamic arabesque patterns and Quranic inscriptions. This is a view of carved Hindu detail above a trabeated arch in the mosque.